Ahern's mixed views on digging up history

Dail Sketch / Frank McNally: As the uncrowned king of Ireland, Bertie Ahern could be expected to have an interest in the preservation…

Dail Sketch / Frank McNally: As the uncrowned king of Ireland, Bertie Ahern could be expected to have an interest in the preservation of the Hill of Tara. If he wins a third term in Government, Fianna Fáil might yet be booking the site for a ceremony.

Indeed, when Fine Gael's Damien English - questioning the Taoiseach about his views on the proposed M3 - suggested that Mr Ahern had inherited the mantle of Tara's kings, Olivia Mitchell immediately spotted the danger.

"Don't be giving him ideas," she said.

But sure enough, Mr Ahern had already been up to Meath to check out the situation and seemed happy that the kings' ancient seat was safe. He lashed out at campaigners "standing on the Hill of Tara in front of TV cameras" and suggesting the road would go through it. On the contrary, Mr Ahern had stood on the M3's proposed route, and he couldn't even see the hill.

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Having said that, he would be happy to be guided by archaeologists - "the fastest growing profession in the country" - if they could only agree on the issue.

Mr Ahern is continually talking about the increased numbers of jobs, houses, roads, and whatever you're having yourself under Fianna Fáil and the PDs. But he seems to have very mixed feelings about the boom in archaeology.

He noted that his seven years in power had seen the numbers in the profession grow from a "handful" to a "posse". So on the subject of Tara, he added: "Let's see what they say - there's certainly enough of them."

Perhaps Mr Ahern resents the competition, because he's no slouch himself when it comes to digging up the past. When Enda Kenny confronted him with the Government's abandonment of its promised cut in teacher-pupil ratios, Mr Ahern reached for his trowel and produced an artefact - annual numbers of teaching graduates pre-1997 - to show that life during the Brutonian era was grim.

Labour got into the Yuletide spirit early when asking if the Government would forego VAT on the Live Aid DVD. When the Taoiseach said he had no plans to amend tax legislation, he was cast in the role of Bad Santa. "That's very mean!" complained Joan Burton, while her colleagues pointed at the Government and chimed: "Do they know it's Christmas?"

Joe Higgins raised the High Court case of the lesbian couple, suggesting the Government was again hiding behind the courts rather than legislating for difficult issues. Then, noting the "dash of episcopal purple" in the Taoiseach's shirt and tie, he invited Mr Ahern to "pronounce" on gay marriage. But Mr Ahern declined his generous offer of a bishopric, and said nothing.